Current Survey Work Leading To Highway 97 Being Resurfaced
December 5, 2007
Survey work currently underway along Highway 97 in North Escambia is in preparation for the resurfacing of the road beginning in late 2009.
The $1.77 million survey and design phase of the project is ongoing, said Tommie Speights, Public Information Director for District 3 of the Florida Department of Transportation. The survey work and preliminary engineering is being conducted by Volkert and Associates of Mobile. The survey is expected to be finished by January of next year.
“The project is scheduled to let for contract in August 2009,” Speights told NorthEscambia.com. “It would then take three to four months to begin actual resurfacing, so work would begin in about December of 2009.”
Budget figures show that the resurfacing project is expected to cost $17.1 million and be completed in 2010. The entire roadway is be repaved from Country Road 95 (Old Palafox) across Highway 29 to the Alabama state line, a distance of about 23 miles. No major drainage changes are expected to the route’s 55 cross drains under the highway, with the exception of some possible changes near the intersection of Highway 97 and Crabtree Church Road.
Existing 12 foot wide travel lanes and five foot paved shoulders will be milled and resurfaced. This project does not include the four-laning of Highway 97. A four lane highway is not in any of the state’s current plans for Highway 97.
Pictured Above: Survey crews work recently on Highway 97 near County Road 99 in north Escambia County.
Memorial Fund Established For Deputy’s Family
December 4, 2007
A memorial fund for the family of Escambia County Deputy Lt. Raymond Simmons has been established by the The Northwest Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolence Association. Simmons died November 24 in Walnut Hill.
The association is asking for 100 deputies to pledge to work one side security job and donate $150.00 to the fund in Simmon’s memory. Deputies typically work extra duty security jobs and earn about $150.00 for eight hours. Any deputy willing to make the pledge is asked to email nwfpbawebmaster@yahoo.com with their name and fulfill their pledge within 90 days.
Anyone else wishing to make a donation for his children can do so at any branch of Pen Air Federal Credit Union, including the branch at 8460 North Century Boulevard in Century.
“We have an opportunity to work extra duty employment outside our jobs as officers,” said benevolence association President Bain Custer. “We are asking each officer to commit an eight our shift. But anything would help.”
“It is important to us that we do this for Ray’s children and his wife Summer,” Custer said.
Funeral services for Simmons were held Friday, November 30 at Faith Chapel North in Cantonment. He was laid to rest at Bayview Memorial Park. He had served 14 years with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department.
Picture above and below are submitted photos from the funeral of Escambia County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Raymond Simmons.
Glenn Key Honored By Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department
December 2, 2007
Glenn Key of Oak Grove was honored Saturday night by the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department with the department’s annual community service award.
Key was out of town when the fire department held its annual fish fry and awards presentation on November 3. WHVFD Fire Chief Robert Stewart took the opportunity to present the award to Key at the Walnut Hill Ruritan’s annual Christmas party Saturday night.
Stewart said Key had served the community well, being involved in many projects over the past 50 years. Key first moved to the area in 1956.
Picture above: Glenn Key (left) receives the annual community service award from Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Stewart.
Walnut Hill Ruritan Celebrates 60 Years
December 1, 2007
The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club celebrated its 60th anniversary at the club’s annual Christmas party Saturday night.
Outgoing club President William Reynolds (pictured left) presented Billy G. Ward (right) with a plaque honoring him as a surviving charter member. Ward was among the first members of the club that signed the club charter in 1947.
A portion of the original charter from June 1947 is pictured left. Click it to enlarge and read the charter, including the names of all of the original members of the club.
Over the years, the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club has been involved in many local projects, including the formation of the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department, the development of Bradberry Park, free local calling from Walnut Hill to the county seat of Pensacola and countless other community projects.
New club officers for 2008 were installed Saturday night by longtime club member Glenn Key. Billy R. Ward (pictured left) was named the club’s president. Mike Godwin was named vice president, Perry Byars secretary, James Formby treasurer and Royce Ward was named a three year director.
Pictured left to right below are Mike Godwin, vice president; Perry Byars secretary; James Formby, treasurer; Glenn Key (with microphone) and Royce Ward, three year director of the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club.
Click any photo on this page to enlarge it.
Structure Fire At IP McDavid Sawmill
November 30, 2007
Fire units from across North Escambia responded to the report of a structure fire at the International Paper McDavid Sawmill on Champion Drive in McDavid Friday afternoon. The first fire units on scene are reported light smoke showing from one structure as they arrived.
Fire units from McDavid, Century, Molino, Walnut Hill and Cantonment responded to the sawmill about 1:00 Friday afternoon. The fire was reported to be out at about 1:15.
(Friday, November 30, 1:45 p.m.)
Funeral Services Held For Deputy
November 30, 2007
(Updated 11:55 a.m., Friday, Nov. 30)
Funeral services were held Friday morning for Raymond “Ray” Dewitt Simmons, an off-duty Escambia County deputy found dead early Saturday morning at behind a Walnut Hill church.
Funeral services were held at the Faith Chapel Funeral Home North on Highway 29 in Cantonment. Burial followed at Bayview Memorial Park. Visitation was held last night.
Simmons died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound early Saturday morning in Walnut Hill at the Walnut Hill Mennonite Church at the intersection of Highway 97 and North Highway 99. The deputy’s unmarked cruiser was found parked with blue lights flashing just after 5:00 a.m. on a driveway behind a cemetery that leads from the church’s parking lot to Highway 99.
Members of the law enforcement and others are leaving their thoughts and condolences on leoaffairs.com, an online law enforcement community.”Ray was the kind of Lt. that backed up his guys/gals and fought the battles that needed to be fought,” one post on the forum says.
“I’ll miss his laughter, the funny stories he would told, his compassion and insightful advice. I feel so blessed to have known him,” says another poster.
“Ray Simmons was one of my best friends and the absolute best street cop I’ve ever met . He taught me the ropes and made me the cop I am today. Ray was my favorite cop and I learned something every time I watched him work,” another person wrote on the forum.
To view more comments, or to leave your own condolences, visit:
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/viewtopic.php?t=38359
Simmons had served 14 years with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department, and was currently serving as a lieutenant.
(Pictured above: Atmore Ambulance arrives on scene Saturday morning about 5:30. Below: The scene a few hours later as crime scene investigators work.)
Man Shot, Killed By Deputies In Century Has Been Indentified
November 29, 2007
(Updated 6:45 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 29)
Three Escambia County deputies shot and killed a Century man at his Campbell Road home after he threatened them with a weapon Wednesday night. He has been identified as 50 year old Michael Bodi McCormick by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Deputies had responded to a call about a man that was possibly suicidal at or near Odom’s Bar in Century before five. McCormick’s vehicle was spotted near Campbell Sand and Gravel in the area of Campbell Road and Fannie Road. A short vehicle chase followed reportedly, ending with deputies surrounding a house on Campbell Road. The sheriff’s department helicopter was called to the scene.
After deputies surrounded the scene, the McCormick pointed multiple weapons at them, authorities said, with the shooting taking place after five o’clock.
“He would not drop the weapons and attempted to aim at the officers,” Chief Deputy Larry Smith said at the scene. “The officers felt like their lives were in danger and unfortunately had to fire their weapons.”
Officials declined to say how many times he was shot.
Three deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting, which is standard procedure. They have have not been identified, and none of the three were injured.
The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is also standard procedure following a deputy-involved shooting.
More details will be posted as soon as they become available.
(Picture below: An investigative unit from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement enters the scene of a deputy involved fatal shooting Wednesday night on Campbell Road in Century, shortly after the medical examiner arrived on scene. Above: Michael Bodi McCormick)
Students Bring Home Progress Reports, Letter on Staph Infections
November 28, 2007
Escambia County public school students will brought home their second nine weeks Progress Reports on Wednesday.
By Thursday, students should have also brought home a letter from the Florida Department of Public Health titled “Preventing Staph Infections”. The school district used its Connect-ED phone notification system Tuesday night to alert parents to be on the lookout for the letter.
The letter highlights ways to avoid a staph infection, and stresses the importance of frequent handwashing.
To view the letter in pdf format, click here or on the picture of the letter.
The letter also addresses MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus), which is a type of staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics.
“The Florida Department of Public Health does not recommend closing schools for cleaning when children have skin infections caused by staph because it is not an effective means of protecting children,” the letter states.
No staph outbreak has been reported at any North Escambia school. Two cases of staph, one of which was reported to be MRSA, were acknowledged about a month ago at Bellview Middle School in Pensacola.
Cantonment Rotary and Wal-mart Donate Smoke Alarms
November 28, 2007
The Cantonment Rotary Club, along with Wal-mart, donated 300 smoke alarms to Escambia County Fire Rescue Chief Ken Perkins Wednesday at the club’s meeting at Saint Luke United Methodist Church.
Did You Feel It? Sonic Boom Rattles Area
November 28, 2007
An apparent sonic boom rattled the area about 10:20 Tuesday morning. The rumbling lasted about five seconds at the NorthEscambia.com offices Walnut Hill, where the windows rattled and the sound very much appeared to come from the southwest.
According to the National Weather Service office in Mobile, the weather Tuesday morning was perfect for a sonic boom to have traveled a great distance, even from out over the Gulf of Mexico. Residents from across Mobile, Baldwin and north Escambia counties reported hearing and feeling the boom.
Whatever it was, it was not an earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The National Earthquake Information Center reports no earthquake activity anywhere near south Alabama or northwest Florida. Their realtime earthquake map, pictured above (click to enlarge), does not indicate any activity in the area.
If you felt the boom, please click here to contact us and let us know.